I generally do very little birding when visiting my
relatives in Bristol. On a visit a couple of years ago, I made the effort to
see Tawny Owl, which is resident by my aunt’s flat where I stay during my
visits. I also saw a few Firecrests. This cracking little gem – an upgraded
version of the New World’s Golden-crowned Kinglet – is one of those species
benefiting from the warming trend in northwest Europe and has become a regular
winter visitor in the city in suitable habitat.
I always regular visited Sea Mills, close to my mum’s
home. The River Avon is tidal here and it has always been a regular location
for wintering Common Sandpipers, which are rather local as winterers in the UK.
Common Redshank occurs here as well in reasonable numbers, although the other
regular wintering shorebirds appeared to have declined over the years. I made a
couple of visits this time and saw no Curlews, Lapwings or Dunlin. I have not
seen the last two for some years and they are not as regular as they used to
be.
In contrast, Oystercatchers have become fairly regular the
last few years and I saw a pair on one of my visits this time around, along
with a couple of Common Sandpipers and a dozen Redshanks. The second visit has
a pair of Canada Goose, a species that is systematically taking over the UK and
new Sea Mills tick for me in the form of four Common Shelducks.
The River Avon drains into the Severn Estuary, which has the
second highest tidal range in the world. I was brought up in world of steeply
sloping mudflats and massive tidal ranges. A complete contrast to Santa Barbara
where the tidal range maybe reaches 7 feet at the extreme. The photo above
shows the mudflats at Sea Mills Harbor.
One reason I don’t bird much around Bristol is that the
better sites require a car to access them and I don’t want to go to the hassle
and expense of car rental. However, I decided to look into the viability of
using public transport to visit the Severn Beach area. There are extensive
mudflats and saltmarshes here and recently some managed shallow pools have been
created for birds. The initial investigation in the bus services indicated it
would take at least three hours to get relatively close, followed by a half an
hour walk to an area that in itself required a lot of walking. After dropping
the idea, it occurred to me that I should look at the train service. This was
the answer as there were frequent trains from Sea Mills to Severn Beach that
took slightly over 20 minutes. It was also far cheaper.
On my last Saturday in the UK, a break in the relentless
cloud, wind and rain made for a beautiful morning and I jumped on an early
morning train to Severn Beach. On arrival, I walked north under the second
Severn Bridge towards the Pilning Wetlands, where the shallow scrapes are. One
bird I was hoping to see was (Northern) Wheatear – one of the traditional
harbingers of spring for birders in the UK. On arrival at the wetlands, I ran
into another birder who told me he had earlier seen one in the direction I had
come from. Scanning back, I picked up the bird on a stone wall and walked to
get closer. The bird was a male and gave nice looks, although a bit distant for
good photos.
The wetlands held the expected assortment of dabbling ducks
– Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall – and several displaying (Northern)
Lapwings. A noisy pair of Little Grebes showed well. The adjacent saltmarsh and
mudflats yielded Oystercatcher, Curlew, Shelduck and Black-headed Gulls.
I walked north along seawall for a couple of miles enjoying
the pleasant sunshine and serenaded by Skylarks singing continuously along the
route. A couple of singing Chiffchaffs were another classic early spring
migrant, but no Sand Martins (Bank Swallows) showed up. I found a mixed flock
of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits feeding in a field along with a pair of
dapper Stonechats. At least three (Eurasian) Kestrels were present. This is a
regular location for this species, which has declined quite a lot in western
Britain since my departure, although more frequent in East Anglia and on the
South Coast.
On the return walk, I caught up with a Little Ringed Plover
that had arrived a few days before. I then noticed a commotion over the
saltmarsh and spied a female Merlin chasing Skylarks and pipits high into the
air. Merlin is decidedly uncommon in the Bristol area and I only recall seeing
it a very few times. The tide had come in considerably and I counted 44 Ruddy
Turnstones on the remaining area of exposed flats, which have extensive areas
of seaweed-covered rocks here.
Although I am reluctant to leave the Santa Barabra area
during migration, I really need to visit Bristol during that period to enjoy
the shorebird migration at Severn Beach and the Pilning Wetlands.
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